Study Hall Time
by BlackRitual
Summary: Yuuji needs studying motivation. Nagisa Shiota is just the right person to give it to him.
1. Study Hall Time

**A/N: Hello everyone! Have another standalone Yuujigisa fic!**

 **So yeah…this is entirely self-indulgent. The inspiration was too good to pass up. Prompt is from a post on Tumblr, something along the lines of: "** **Imagine your OTP studying together, and for every question answered right, somebody has to take off a piece of clothing."**

 **Side note: This is NOT written as part of my FYA-verse! It's kind of envisioned as its own little thing, separate from both Found You Again and For the Fans. But hey, it would only take minor tweaking to insert it into either of those stories, so feel free to imagine it however you'd like! :)**

 **Cover image is a commissioned piece by Namaeekaki on Tumblr. Please check out his fantastic work!**

* * *

…Also, as should be obvious: The actions depicted in this fic are not necessarily age-appropriate, and not meant to be endorsement of any kind.

Nagisa blinked. "You want me to do what?"

"C'mon, Nagisa!" Yuuji said, both hands held up in front of him in a pleading motion. "I'm telling you, I'm desperate! Couldn't you do this, for me? Just once?"

The pleasant chatter of café noise hung at a low level around them. Mid-afternoon sunlight streamed through the windows and lit up the room, lined with rows of tables stretching out to the front and back. Off to the right-hand side was the main counter where people could place an order, an attractive glass case taking up most of its frame. Yuuji sat on one side of the table, facing Nagisa an arm's length across. Two small plates lay forgotten beside them, strewn with messy forks and the forgotten remnants of their meals.

The café itself was new, its floors still shining with polish and the corners sporting plants arranged in tasteful bunches here and there for decoration. It had seemed like a relatively safe bet, given the circumstances. And if there was anything that Yuuji had a good sense for, it was eatery places. Yuuji had bought the both of them lunch as well as a drink ( _Non-alcoholic_ , he had remembered, directing his eyes away from that side of the menu-board. _Of course_.) as a show of goodwill. That was the customary practice for when you wanted to ask a favor of someone, anyway.

Nagisa kept both hands cupped around the base of his drink, sipping calmly through a straw as he held Yuuji in a stare.

Yuuji gulped, wilting under it for a moment.

A lot of things had happened over the years.

It was kind of strange to admit, but somehow the two of them had managed to find each other again. Time had passed like some sort of weird clunky machine, a process which adults always seemed to describe with such ease but that turned out to be unavoidably awkward for those who were actually living through it. A week here, a few holidays there, the next teen life crisis there, soaked in a whirlwind of different classes and school uniforms, and before Yuuji could even lift up his head and look around, the span of a few entire years had passed. They were high-schoolers now. Unreal.

Everything was so different from how it had been in middle school. Man, that had been one strange school year, Yuuji thought, drifting back through his memories for a moment. Of course, he had heard about the many scandals at Kunugigaoka. Most of what he knew was second-hand information, after the government released its final reports and closed all official records related to the topic. But just like everyone else, Yuuji had at least heard the confusing and dangerous stories that spread like wildfire. Something about the shocking deception of a school principal, a class of middle schoolers recruited to be assassins, the government's eventual death ray from above, and even rumors about a gigantic yellow octopus that had been planning to destroy the earth? For one single terrifying week in March, Yuuji had watched the world almost come to an end.

Immediately, he had sent Nagisa a panicked message online, something like ' _oh my god I saw your school almost blow up, are you alright?_ ' After that, the two of them had kept in an awkward sort of contact. Thanks to the powers of the internet, anything was possible. Though it wasn't like Yuuji could call them particularly close, over the years both of them seemed to form some sort of connection. A silent agreement that they didn't want to lose track of each other.

Due to the unfortunate nature of their first meeting, Yuuji had approached Nagisa rather timidly at first, but after the whole end-of-the-world thing, that all took a back seat. Nagisa had been surprisingly forgiving whenever they exchanged one of their sporadic texts, saying that everything was okay, he was just glad Yuuji had messaged him. If you asked Yuuji, that response was by far the strangest thing of all.

Oh, and Yuuji knew now that Nagisa was actually a guy, of course. Really, it had been weird for a while to think that his first-ever real crush could be a boy, but Yuuji had come to accept that by this point. Crushes were crushes, and the momentary feelings of happiness that they brought were all that mattered. He did see Nagisa as his actual gender now, whenever he looked at him. Honestly, Yuuji wondered how the heck he could have missed it before. It was obvious once you knew the truth.

Besides, Nagisa actually didn't look that bad as a guy. With his recent haircut, the new, shorter length of his blue hair definitely helped to bring out a more masculine impression. Somehow, with the softness of his cheeks, he still looked like someone Yuuji would want to protect. Yuuji wondered if it was okay to think of a guy as "cute".

Yuuji still hadn't heard the whole of what happened during that year at Kunugigaoka, but whatever. He supposed that in the end, he only needed to know that he had Nagisa's forgiveness.

Although, currently, that forgiveness appeared to be running a little low.

"You can't be serious," said Nagisa. Although the boy had a reputation for being kind, his current tone was managing to do an impressive job of resembling a brick wall. "I told you, Yuuji, I'm kind of busy right now. Plus, are you really sure we could pull something like that off? I don't know if such a thing would really suit me…"

"Please!" The declaration burst out of Yuuji. He slapped both hands to the tabletop and bowed deep enough that his hat nearly touched the polished wood. "This is really important, Nagisa. I'll do anything!"

A dash of white caught Yuuji's eye. On the table in front of him was a single slip of paper, its surface marked with black ink—a transcript of his grades. Yuuji grit his teeth. This couldn't be happening to him.

The unfortunately-familiar scrawl was a brutal reminder of why he was here today. Honestly, they didn't look that bad to Yuuji, but still. He had been given enough grief about it by now.

"You gotta help me," Yuuji continued, nearly whining. "We're only in our second year of high school, but my teachers are already getting wiggy about this stuff. We've got mock exams coming up soon, and apparently that's, like, the end of the world or something."

Nagisa raised one eyebrow at the end-of-the-world comment, but let him continue.

Yuuji huffed. "I don't see what the big deal is, to be honest. But they say that the mock is a good indicator for college entrance exam scores. And we all know just how much adults love to yap on and on about that."

Nagisa nodded, quietly taking it all in. "I see. And how are your grades now?"

"They're…fine?" Yuuji tugged down on the brim of his cap as if to hide his face. "Look, high school is a lot harder than middle school, okay? I can't coast by as easily anymore."

The thought made Yuuji scowl. It was true. His grades were, much as he hated to admit it, kinda tanking. Even despite all that his parents had paid for him to go to this private school, staffed by elites and other children of the rich and infamous. He could still hear their last family argument inside his head: 'Yuuji, do you really think these kinds of results are acceptable? After all that your father and I have done to invest in your education…'

If they hadn't been in public at the moment, Yuuji would have grumbled under his breath. He was trying hard, dammit. He just wanted to enjoy himself and live his own life, for god's sake. Like keeping up with his internet-famous food blog. Wasn't that enough? But no, it wasn't like his parents even knew about it. A dark weight settled inside Yuuji's heart. Hell, they probably wouldn't even read it if they did.

That blog was the one thing that made Yuuji feel like himself. That food diary showed off his talents and was the one thing intrinsically his, yet they never cared. Instead, what his parents had started to notice instead were his marks in school. He had gotten the usual speech. Phrases such as 'What happened to everything we did to raise you?' and 'Don't dishonor this family' still rang inside his ears so much that they stung.

Yuuji winced in order to hide a frown. Just because they were right, didn't make it easy.

His heart wallowed. Stupid parents. Why did they only decide to pay attention now? He had been living like this for years, hardly putting much effort into studying. Enjoying the moment and living while he was young had seemed far more important. After all, he was just a kid. Life was supposed to be a fun while it lasted. Was it because he was about to step into the limelight now, become an adult, and they didn't want him to embarrass them? Was is all because of the precious family name? Why was it that the only times he could get someone to care were the times he was about to fall apart?

The pit of darkness inside of Yuuji curdled and turned sour at the edges with guilt. God, just listen to him. He sounded exactly like all those rich-kid brats that he never wanted to be. The kind of kids who received everything, and never said a word of thanks for it. All these resources, all this money and support that surrounded him, yet he never used them to their full potential. How spoiled was that?

The background noise inside Yuuji's head ground down to a constant grumble. God, everything was just so hard. He never asked to have this destiny, this silver spoon in his mouth that everyone resented him for, being born into a life of having everything expected of you and yet nothing at all.

"Still, why would you need me?" asked Nagisa, interrupting Yuuji's train of thought. "Wouldn't your parents…I don't know, consider a cram school or something?"

"Yeah, they already thought about that," Yuuji answered quickly. "They brought up the names of a half-dozen schools. My mom even brought out some brochures and everything. Then they started talking like I wasn't there. You know, like it was their future and not mine."

"Still." He shook his head. "I told them that I refused, and if I could find a better way, then they would have to accept it."

Inwardly, Yuuji shuddered at the memories of that conversation. Like hell he would ever go through the flashcard-whirlwind, overly-strict-lady-peering-down-through-eyeglasses, repetitive mess that was private tutoring again. He had hated it as a kid. No, much better to do this kind of thing with somebody that you actually knew and liked.

"I just don't get the point," Yuuji grumbled, fiddling with the paper wrapper for his straw. "There are tons of people I know who aren't taking these mock exams seriously. None of my close friends are even worried about it! So why should I?"

It was true. Among all the kids Yuuji knew at his elite private school, half the people he could name seemed to be making no effort to take the mock tests seriously. Those kids appeared to be partying just the same as before. Heck, even harder. Yuuji had heard countless whispers around his school of who was planning to skip the exam, ditch it, get an advance copy, have their parents make some personal phone calls, or even just bribe their chosen colleges outright.

Nagisa nodded. He took a long sip of his drink. "And yet, you don't seem to be joining them."

Yuuji hesitated. "No," he said at last, not even knowing why. "I just… I guess I just want to prove something. I mean, my parents are watching my grades now, and that's part of it, but still. I want to try under my own power."

"And you're good at this," Yuuji said, leaning over to point at Nagisa. "I know that. You've always been way more dedicated to school stuff than me. And I hear you still do tutoring at that nursery school on the side. Wakaba Park, right?"

Nagisa shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "Y-yeah, but… Yuuji, I'm not sure if I have enough time. I have my own mock exams to study for, too-"

"I'll pay you."

Despite Nagisa's best efforts, the boy fell quiet. Yuuji knew that kind of immediate silence. It was the kind that meant his words had hit their target.

"I… I don't know…"

"It's good money. Double the usual hourly rate. Plus, it'd look really good during college interviews."

The words flowed out of Yuuji's mouth like the burbling of a river. The sheer ease of it made Yuuji want to kick himself for a moment. Ugh. He was doing that thing again, relying on his money to get people to pay attention to him. Pathetic. But all the same, Yuuji squashed that instinct of shame down. He couldn't help it, okay? It was the quickest way to get what he wanted out of this, and would save a lot of headaches. Plus, it was kind of all he knew how to do at this point. Flash some cash in front of people, and it was amazing how many walls would start to crumble.

"Please! I really need this," Yuuji said again, voice wobbling this time as he brought his forehead down toward the tabletop. Was he begging? He was begging. C'mon, the great Yuuji Norita was bowing his head. Anyone should appreciate this!

For a long while, Nagisa was silent. His fingers tapped the side of his glass. "Hmm. You'll 'do anything', huh?"

Suddenly, his gaze snapped up to Yuuji. "In that case, I suppose it can't be helped. I'll do it."

"What?" Relief flashed through Yuuji's veins like lightning. "Really?"

"Mm-hm." Nagisa nodded. "Just until the mock entrance exam period is over."

"You mean it? Oh man, thank you-"

"But on one condition." Nagisa smiled, cutting off the burst of joy that erupted from Yuuji's heart. "You have to promise to give all my methods a fair shot. They might seem a bit strange at first, but they'll work. Trust me."

Yuuji stared back at him in confusion. Of course. Why wouldn't he trust Nagisa?

Nagisa nodded. "Okay. Let's get everything sorted, then. Location?"

"My house," answered Yuuji automatically. "So my parents can tell that I'm actually doing something. I'll even reimburse you for the travel costs."

"Hm. Length of each session?"

"Uhh…two hours?" Yuuji guessed. "Wait, that sounds like a lot. Let's make it one and a half."

"Payment schedule?"

"In-person, given after each session."

A nod from Nagisa. "Once session per week?"

"Twice."

A small frown. "Once."

"Twice," said Yuuji, holding firm.

The frown stayed on Nagisa's face, a small glint visible somewhere within the boy's eyes, like light off the edge of a knife. "Twice a week," he spoke slowly, "and cut it down to one-hour per session."

"Done."

"Okay. I think I can do that." Nagisa gave a bright smile, as if even these negotiations were all part of a bigger plan. "Well, this is exciting! I'm actually kind of looking forward to this. I hope we can get to know each other well!"

The sight of that grin on his face made Yuuji's heart go all funny. God, Yuuji still remembered that smile—the one from back then, when Nagisa had smiled at him right before leaving the club, and how it had seemed to make all the background noise and worries disappear. Did Nagisa have any idea what effect he had on him?

But, in response to the innocent expression of surprise on Nagisa's face, Yuuji swallowed it down. Yuuji stuck his hand out, in the way that he had always seen his father do. "Pleasure doing business with ya."

As their palms touched, a different kind of warmth spread through Yuuji's heart. Man, that smile made everything worth it.

* * *

Their first meeting was on a Saturday, after the half-day of school.

The thought of it almost made Yuuji want to groan. That meant he couldn't go out and get stupid like usual, but whatever. This was fun too, somehow. His toes couldn't stop tapping, as if some part of him had been looking forward to seeing Nagisa all week.

Besides, it was only for a few months, he told himself for the hundredth time. After this fraud of trying to please his folks' wishes, he could go and goof off as much as he wanted. He just had to put up with this for a little while longer...

A soft click passed through the air as Yuuji opened the door to his room. "Here we are," he said, stepping inside. "Our own cozy little abode. Make yourself at home. Sorry for the mess, my mom insists on telling the house staff to clean less up here, to try to make me do most of the work myself…"

"Oh my god," said Nagisa after they both passed through the doorway. His eyes flew wide like a deer in headlights. "Yuuji, this is incredible."

The size of the room appeared to dazzle him. The space around them was huge, with walls painted a pristine, almost unnatural white. Natural light filtered in through oversized windows. A thick carpet attempted to give the floors a cozy feel. Long curtains fluttered on one side, covering floor-to-ceiling glass panels that slid open like doors, leading out onto a spacious balcony that provided a view down into the gardens below. The room itself was divided in the middle, hitching in like a waist. One half-wall stood in the center of the complex, leaving space to pass by on either side, like twin corridors. Beyond that partition, even more personal affects could be seen along with a king-sized bed, the sheets folded immaculately in a way that could never have been done by its teenaged owner.

The rest of the room was living space. Off to one side stood a desk, a sturdy, brown one made of wood. Next to it was a mini-fridge, sleek and gray and undoubtedly stuffed with snacks, maybe even a few drinks. A mass of different shelves lined the walls, strewn with remnants of old hobbies. Aside from manga, a surprising number of books of every shape and color could be seen as well. The room held not just one but two TVs—the bigger set placed proudly against the wall, with a more personal sized one facing the bedroom chamber. Connected to the larger one was a selection of video games and consoles, one of every kind that had ever been on the market. A stereo system with surround-sound speakers and its wires traced the ceiling. The "mess" Yuuji had been talking about appeared to be a few papers scattered here and there, some wrappers poking out from the edge of a garbage can, and a few coats thrown over the back of a nearby massage chair. Also, of course, a stray hat or three lying around.

Nagisa took it all in slowly, looking from side to side. He appeared to be absorbing every centimeter of it, like a sponge. "Why does your room have two sections? It's like…a hotel suite."

Yuuji looked back at him. "Hm? What are you talking about? This is just a normal room."

Whatever. The two of them quickly moved on, Yuuji leading them towards the desk. Privately, Yuuji hoped that Nagisa wouldn't ask any more questions. Seeing how shocked Nagisa had been made Yuuji want to shrink a little bit on the inside. Usually Yuuji loved showing off, but for some reason this was different. He didn't want Nagisa to feel as if there were any distance between them.

They settled in around the wood desk. One of the bookshelves stretched behind the back, creating a rather scholarly air. Yuuji took a seat and brought out his study materials, fetching a notebook, pencils, and binder paper from one of the drawers. Hey, he might not be the brightest bulb in the room, but no one could say that at least he wasn't prepared.

Come to think of it, Nagisa had been impressed with the rest of the house, too. Yuuji had caught the wonder in the boy's eyes when first greeting him at the door, and the rush of a gasp Nagisa had made when walking through the foyer. He had spread out his arms, as if in awe that he couldn't touch the sides of each room. And Yuuji remembered how Nagisa had shouted in the main hall, hearing his voice echo through the space before clapping a hand over his mouth and apologizing. Yuuji had told him it was no big deal.

Honestly though, Yuuji didn't see what was so impressive about it. All he could think about was how deeply the house staff had bowed to them him and his "honored guest" at the entrance, and how his parents wouldn't even be home tonight. His fingers tightened around the grip of his pencil.

"Alright. So what's the plan?" asked Yuuji, trying to shake off those feelings. "How are you going to turn me into a super-genius within the span of the next few months?"

Nagisa rolled his eyes. "Honestly, you're supposed to be helping me create a schedule, Yuuji." But even then he pulled a notebook and binder stuffed with papers out of his schoolbag. Yuuji hid a small smile. It looked like he had come prepared.

"Well, let's get started," Nagisa announced, tapping the papers against his lap. "First, I thought it would be a good idea to concentrate on refining your weak points. Would you mind telling me what you would say is your weakest subject, at the moment?"

"Uh." Yuuji felt an invisible sweat-drop as he thought. "Math, I guess?"

Nagisa switched the papers in his hand, shuffling a few different ones forward. "I had a feeling."

"Okay, in that case let's focus on that for today," Nagisa said. "But don't worry, in later sessions we'll also add in your strengths, so that you don't get demotivated. And don't think that this lets you off the hook for the other subjects. Ideally, I'd like to see you bring up your scores in all the other subject area up, too."

"What?" Yuuji whined. That sounded like so much work. "Why? What on earth would I have to gain from all that?"

Nagisa smiled. "My favor."

Well, that did it. Yuuji shut up, his mouth closing tight to snuff out any and all complaints. The fires of motivation flared to life inside his stomach. Yuuji was nothing if not a simple man.

"Actually, there's more to it than that, to tell you the truth," said Nagisa. He held up one finger, like a lecturer at the front of a classroom. "Work in any subject is bound to pay off in many ways. Once you've learned good study strategies and put forth the effort needed to succeed in the areas where you have less natural ability, that's how you access your own inner strength. From then, it becomes easier to use those strategies when studying for the other subjects too. Therefore, getting your grades up in one subject can helps every one out." Nagisa glanced away in a motion so quick it took only a blink. "And ah, slipping in any one subject can start bringing the rest of them down, too…"

"Yikes man," Yuuji said, leaning on his desk with one elbow. "Don't pressure me with stuff like that."

He was quiet for a moment, taking in the other boy's slumped posture, his conflicted expression. "…Is that how you ended up in the E Class?"

Nagisa turned to him in shock. "How'd you know?"

"Just a feeling." Honestly, even Yuuji wasn't sure how the idea had come to his attention. One of the perks of having those ridiculous powers of observation, he supposed.

Just as he finished saying that, another new idea popped into Yuuji's head. He leaned across the space between them, cupping one hand around his face as if they were sharing a secret. "Hey. Speaking of that class, did you guys actually do all of those things people say you did, or…?"

"What, the secret mutant alligators?" Nagisa said, referring to one of the most common conspiracy theories out there. "No. Just an octopus that could fly at Mach 20."

"Oh."

"There was a mouse that blew up the moon, though."

"There was what?"

Nagisa shrugged. "It made sense at the time."

Yuuji gaped. Well, he supposed in Nagisa's world, all things were possible. The world that Nagisa inhabited was bound to have been full of things as unearthly and wonderful as the boy himself. That wouldn't have been unusual.

From there, the studying began. The sound of pencil scratching across paper filled the air as Yuuji made his way through a worksheet. Nagisa had wanted to give him a pretest, to see what level he was at for further sessions. Nagisa gave instruction, going over the main ideas and formulas first. He explained the ways around common obstacles, guiding Yuuji through a few steps until Yuuji could replicate them on his own, giving just enough hints to let Yuuji fumble his way to an answer himself. In a way, it was like listening to a tactical commander. Yuuji shook his head in exasperation. He felt like a soldier being thrown into battle. His formulas and hastily-cobbled-together strategies hung in his mind like ill-fitting armor. He could practically picture the problems floating off of the paper, morphing into monsters that surrounded him and stood ready to beat him to a pulp. Whenever he looked over towards Nagisa with wide eyes that screamed "help", he would get only an encouraging smile back. If the pen truly was mightier than the sword, this seemed to be Yuuji's chance to prove it.

"So, do you have a target you're aiming at?"

"What?"

"Your goal," Nagisa continued. "It's hard to strike a bullseye against an opponent when you don't even know where your main target is. And the upcoming mock exams are for college placements, right? Do you have any idea about what your top choice might be?"

"Nah, actually," Yuuji said, not looking up from where he was concentrating on a particularly vexing bit of mathematic code. "Honestly, I figured there isn't much point. I'll just pick a few top schools, then do my best with the exams for them. Might have to pay my way in, but that's fine. That's how a lot of things are done at the elite level, anyway."

From where he was sitting, Yuuji might not have been able to see Nagisa, but he could sense his frown like a chill through the air. "You should maybe think about taking this more seriously," Nagisa chided. "I know this is only our second year. And the practice exams won't actually have any bearing on what we do with the rest of our lives. But it's important prep for the craziness of third year, which isn't that far away. That's when everything will really start to pay off."

"Practice exams are preparation for the real thing," Nagisa continued. "Whatever exams we take will determine what colleges we get into, which is a pretty big step in determining out futures. Hard work and personal ability is important, too. But unfortunately you know what they say. If you can get into a good college, and beable to put that name down on a job application, you'll be much more likely to get hired. It's like companies think that just because a person was able to get into places like Souseda, or Keisetsu, then that person is smart enough to be a good worker for them." Nagisa frowned. "Which I guess might be true in a way, given that they must have been smart enough to pass the entrance exam for those places, but still. And it's… nice that you're able to pay your way in, Yuuji. But that shouldn't be your only option."

Nagisa squeezed his papers to his chest. "The hard work you put in now is going to be invaluable in helping to pass this mock exam. That's why it's important to face this kind of thing properly, head-on. "

Huh. Yuuji frowned, holding the end of his pencil in his mouth as he puzzled. He had never really thought about it like that before…

When the two of them were done for the day, Yuuji escorted them back, retracing their path down the spiral staircase and through the corridor to the front entrance of the house. Once there, Yuuji held open the door for Nagisa. He puffed out his chest and tried to look suave. "So, may I see you again?"

Nagisa glanced at him in a way that was almost amused. He raised an eyebrow. For one moment, Yuuji's breath caught in his throat, thinking that he was about to say something sweet-

"Well, I'm scheduled for next Tuesday, so." Nagisa shrugged.

"Oh, right," Yuuji said. "Of course."

They bowed, and Yuuji closed the door, not sure if he felt more like an idiot or the luckiest person in the world.

* * *

Over the next few weeks, Yuuji's life settled down into its new routine.

Nagisa would come over twice a week. And two times per week, Yuuji would find himself sitting at the desk, scoot himself in, get out pencil and paper, and resign himself to the absolutely marvelous torture that was tutoring under Nagisa.

Today they had progressed from mathematics to another benchmark test. Yuuji frowned down at the paper. English lessons. Nagisa's specialty. And Yuuji's nemesis.

Nagisa's head perked up after Yuuji gave a particularly frustrated-sounding sigh. Nagisa shuffled his papers over his lap nervously. Once a few innocuous seconds had passed, he gently spoke to interrupt.

"Yuuji," ventured Nagisa. "I didn't think to ask about this earlier, but…you haven't been struggling with other things on top of school, have you?"

"Hm?"

"I mean," Nagisa said, tone calm yet cautious. "That ah, strange cigarette stuff from forever ago. Your grades haven't been going down due to being under the influence, have they?"

"What?" Yuuji said. "Oh god, no. I've actually stayed away from that stuff."

Nagisa rustled pencil against paper. "How much?" he asked like a doctor measuring a dose of medicine. Somehow, the question managed to sound nonjudgmental coming from him.

"Uh. Completely." Yuuji ruffled his hair. From the look on Nagisa's face, he could tell that the boy didn't believe him. "Oh come on, I'm serious! Like, okay, maybe the odd drink here and there," Yuuji admitted, memories flashing back to scattered nightclubs with pulsing music (lyrics slightly tamer) and dimly-lit company (now with "friends" that stayed for longer).

"I still like to, y'know, have some fun now and then," said Yuuji. "And it's hard to avoid that kind of world completely. But none of that really sketchy stuff. To be honest, I think I'm done with that sort of life." Yuuji shook his head for emphasis. And, as just a few years ago he would have been surprised to realize, it was true. Nagisa had been so worried, so adamant about not only telling but showing Yuuji how that sort of stuff did the exact opposite of making Yuuji look cool. And it had made Yuuji think. Every time Yuuji got the urge to try something, or was offered something by another person in skeevy trash-heaps, those words and the concern laced on Nagisa's face would immediately flash back into Yuuji's mind. He just couldn't forget it.

Besides, if Nagisa saw something that had been worth saving in Yuuji, then Yuuji could almost believe he was worth saving.

"So hey, uh…" Yuuji spoke again, breaking the silence. "Speaking of that, I never really got the chance to say this before, but thanks. Seriously. Those words helped me out a lot, and you don't know how often they've come in handy."

"No, no," Nagisa laughed, shaking his head to refuse, as always. "You did all that quitting yourself. All I did was open the door. You're the one who chose to walk through it."

Then Nagisa's expression turned sheepish. "I mean, I didn't even mean to do anything to you, so… I don't really feel that I can take the credit. It was an accident, honest."

Now it was Yuuji's turn to shake his head in refusal. "You don't need to apologize. Meeting you was the best accident that's ever happened to me."

"What?"

"Nothing."

The two of them got back to studying, Yuuji feeling somehow much lighter around the shoulders than earlier.

But still, try as he might, soon Yuuji found himself reaching the limits of his concentration.

Yuuji sighed. He jiggled his pencil in his mouth. He rested his head in his hands, even when he didn't really need the break. He began staring into space, looking off into the confines of his bookshelf as if the gaps between volumes were as vast and interesting as the depths of a whole new universe. Any attempts at holding thoughts in his head failed, thoughts coming to him and then slipping away like holes in swiss cheese. The sounds of Nagisa giving a tutoring lecture from beside him faded out into an incomprehensible melody, indistinct as the pounding of a drumbeat.

"…And so when you see this case here, what it really means is that-" Nagisa's voice petered out as he noticed that his employer wasn't paying attention. "Hey. Yuuji, look alive."

"Oh, c'mon," Yuuji said, kicking back in his seat. He tilted his chin up and groaned. "We've been at this for so long already."

"It's hardly been thirty minutes."

"But it feels like forever," Yuuji whined.

God, this was why Yuuji could never bring himself to do extra study work. It just required so much _time_ and focus, damn it. What was the point of forcing himself to keep his butt in a chair for another solid hour, if he didn't even want to do this in the first place? Yuuji's feet swung aimlessly through the space underneath his chair.

Then, in a lightbulb flash, an idea came to him.

"Hey," he said, returning back from his lackadaisical pose. Yuuji slouched over the desk, leaning forward towards where Nagisa was standing. "You know what kind of things I think we should study instead?"

"What?"

"Each other."

Nagisa looked at him funny. He cocked an eyebrow before moving on, looking down at his tutoring notes.

"Oh c'mon, don't give me that. You know I don't like it when the clouds hang over your bright smile."

Nagisa shifted on his feet. He turned over the top paper in his grasp with a determined flip.

Yuuji grinned. This was getting fun now. "Hey Mister Tutor, you know what? The two of us go together like a teacher and a textbook-" he held up his own from where it was on the desk. "You solve all my _problems_."

Nagisa groaned at the pun. But, he couldn't hide a slight grin that peeked out where Yuuji could spot it.

"You know what grade I'd give you if I had a choice?" Yuuji puckered his lips and made a kissy face. "An 'A' for Angel." Yeah, this seemed like a good idea. Maybe he wouldn't have to study if he could just distract his instructor instead.

A rosy blush came to Nagisa's face. "Stop that," he muttered.

A reaction! So, his words were getting somewhere. Yuuji pressed on, determined. "Aww, c'mon. What's the harm? You know, if you'd like to take a break too, you know what else you could tutor me on? CPR lessons. You never know when a little mouth-to-mouth is gonna come in handy… "

Nagisa sighed, shaking his head. "Yuuji, you're a terrible flirt."

Immediately, Yuuji perked up from where he had been slouching over the desk. "Really? Thanks, I try so hard-"

"No, I mean it. You're terrible at this." Nagisa said with a contemplative frown.

Oh. Yuuji collapsed after a few more seconds, all the wind taken out of his sails. Well, fine. It had been worth a shot, damn it.

"I'll take your practice test now, if you're done with it."

Yuuji turned in his test sheet with a grumble. At the very least, he had at least been able to finish it. When he handed the paper over, he didn't even need to see the look on Nagisa's face to know the truth. His results would be… not good.

Nagisa went over the sheet quickly, pencil tapping and eyes scanning for any imperfections. He opened his mouth as if to critique-

Then abruptly closed it again. Nagisa's hand wavered where it was on the sheet, sending a tremble through the paper for a moment. Yuuji looked up, alerted by the silence. When he did, he saw something different in Nagisa's eyes. It was almost as if something had come into focus.

Nagisa looked off to the left, back towards the doorway. "Yuuji," he said. "This room is…pretty private, right?"

"Huh? Yeah. We're all alone, and these rooms are huge. You see these carpets?" Yuuji scuffed a toe against the ground. "Nice and fluffy. Honestly, I've dropped heavy stuff up here before and no one has come running to check. If the door was open then it might be a different story, I guess. But usually when I have the door closed, that's a signal that I don't want to be disturbed." Yuuji nodded back at the door, which was indeed closed for their session. "Near sound-proof, see? If you're worried about the house staff, they don't usually come unless called." Privately, Yuuji winced at not being able to catch himself in time. Dang it. Yet another reference to the gap between them.

Nagisa was silent, still looking off towards the door and frowning. He appeared to be staring into space much like Yuuji had been.

A sudden jab of self-consciousness made Yuuji start to freak out on the inside. Was Nagisa offended or something? Damn, Yuuji knew he should have kept his big mouth shut. His mind scrambled for something he could say to make things less awkward.

At long last, Nagisa sighed. "Well, you did say that you'd 'do anything'," he mumbled to himself.

Before Yuuji could ask what he meant, Nagisa had leaned down and dug through his folders again. He took out another sheet of paper and placed it onto Yuuji's desk. From the looks of it, it was another short practice test.

"Why?" Yuuji whined. "Why do I have to do this again?"

"Just give it a try."

Yuuji pouted. "But I already finished the one for today."

"Just do your best," Nagisa encouraged. "Here, look…"

He leaned forward over the desk, one arm snaking out in front of Yuuji. Nagisa's pen moved swiftly across the paper, adding a few red tick marks next to each question. "How's this for an idea. Let's make it a bit of a competition. For each right answer you get, I'll take off a piece of clothing."

"Geez, fine… What?!" Yuuji jolted in his seat. He had to be dreaming. He hadn't heard that right. He knew he hadn't heard that right, there was no way. Okay, he might have been saying all that stuff earlier, but just because Yuuji had done that didn't mean…

Nagisa nodded. He smiled as if he had just said the most normal thing in the world. "It's an exchange. One right answer per article of clothing."

Yuuji's face burst into red. "S-stupid, what are you saying?"

"Just like strip-poker, right? Think of it as extra motivation."

With that, Nagisa sat back into his seat, both hands folded demurely in the center of his lap. "Good luck."

Yuuji stared. His mind kept jumping from Nagisa's face, back to the desk, to Nagisa's smug damn face, to the white paper sitting there. He couldn't… This was all happening so fast. Did Nagisa really mean that? Even if Yuuji glanced at him with all his strong powers of observation, the calmness in Nagisa's shoulders and resolve in his gaze seemed to imply no weak points.

Yuuji held back a noise of confusion and returned his attention back to the desk. He scooted himself in and doubled-down, concentrating on the task. Only one way to find out. But as much as Yuuji tried, he could feel himself unnerved by the situation. The track of his pencil swayed, his handwriting wobbling. All mathematical units and equations would slip from his mind in favor of other distracting questioning thoughts. He couldn't be… Was Nagisa serious?

When Yuuji was done, he shoved the paper over to the edge of his desk, signaling that it was ready to be graded.

"Hmm," Nagisa said, after going through the paper carefully with red pen. "Only four out of ten. That's basically a failing grade."

Yuuji let out a breath of air. So, that was that, then. But wait, why did Nagisa sound almost a bit disappointed? It wasn't like he was actually going to-

Oh my god.

Nagisa stood in one smooth, luxurious motion. He set the paper down on Yuuji's desk, face-up so Yuuji could verify what grade it had gotten for himself. And there it was indeed: a big four written in blocky red ink right at the top. Without a single pause, Nagisa stepped out into the center of the room. Slowly, sumptuously, he began to move.

Nagisa swayed from side to side, moving as graceful as a blade of grass in the wind. He sunk down into his hips, letting them lean to one side before slowly bringing them around and back, using the movement to bring the flow up into his torso, then his arms stirring too, falling in line with an inaudible beat. Nagisa lifted his arms before ending with a smooth shoulder roll. The young man was graceful, and moved with a lithe ease to his limbs. In one quick action, he kicked off his house-slippers, letting them fall where they may. Without losing a single bit of flow, Nagisa reached down, peeling off one sock and then the other, leaning back against the nearby chair to support himself as he stretched out his leg enough to show off the subtle curve of his calves. When that was done, Nagisa transitioned back onto his feet with a gentle push.

Nagisa brushed both hands through his short hair, lifting his elbows up and allowing Yuuji a long, unfettered look at his torso. Blinking eyes that had suddenly become seductively half-lidded, Nagisa slowly slid his hands downwards, tracing along his body until they reached the ends of his shirt hem. He took hold of his outer jacket, following the zipper line up and up and up until it reached his collarbone. Gradually Nagisa let the jacket slide off of his shoulders, first on one side, then the other.

This appeared to shift his dance into a whole new level, the young man sinking deeper into his pose and letting his body go. Nagisa twisted and turned, waving the jacket over his head for a few moments like some kind of rodeo star. He danced around it, using the cloth like a partner in his movements. He even turned around for a few precious seconds, giving Yuuji a back view as he held the jacket stretched between both hands like a towel, holding it over his shoulders to emphasize the curves and lines there. Once a short yet excruciating eternity had passed, he let the jacket fall to the ground. The sight of it just lying there, after having been used for so much ceremony, made something strange stir to life within Yuuji. Bringing his hands to his chest, Nagisa began to work on his vest. He spent a leisurely amount of time undoing the buttons, leaning forward a bit with each new reveal, giving a look at the pure white shirt hidden underneath. Gently, Nagisa took off that layer too, letting the opened vest slip from his shoulders and down his arms, taking the vest in one hand for a moment before tossing it aside, leaving him in just his thin white shirt.

Yuuji's breath grew still in his throat. He stared openly, like some sort of animal. He couldn't help himself; he had never seen something like this before, or if he had, it had never been quite so alluring. Every single motion was fascinating, each movement of Nagisa's hips like the swing of hypnotist's charm. Yuuji's eyes went wide, taking in the new sights that each loss of clothing revealed. The shift and folds as one article of fabric was drawn over another. The sheer athleticism that must have been required to perform all this. The flex of sinew and muscle in his neck. The faint creases tracing the lines of Nagisa's arms through his sleeves. Yuuji gulped. Why the hell was he even noticing that?

Finally, Nagisa seemed to reach an ending point.

"Welp then. That's as much as you get with that," said Nagisa. He stood in place, his shirt having become slightly loose around the collar and one hand resting on his hip. He sounded a little out of breath.

Yet, after all that, he still had another small smile to cast at Yuuji. "Care to try a second round?" he asked.

Without any words, Yuuji nodded.

"Good. Then let's try one more."

Yuuji did as he was told, the two of them returning back to work at the desk. Yuuji muttered to himself as he blitzed through the worksheet at light speed. The subject was different, and Yuuji couldn't tell if he was better (that was to say, worse) at English or Math, but for now he couldn't hold any thoughts in his head aside from how that had looked, how that presentation had felt, and wanting to see it again as soon as possible, half-wondering if he was hallucinating and it would all slip away from him if he stopped to consider it for longer than half a second, like a delicate glass bubble.

And just like before, once the practice test was done, Nagisa graded it.

"Hmm. Okay," Nagisa muttered. He set down the sheet again, the resulting score marked at the top. It was hardly any improvement over the former.

And once more, Nagisa stepped aside and took his place in the middle of Yuuji's rug. Just like last time, he lost the vestments of his slippers and socks, the mere fact that they had been added back being all that was needed for Yuuji to feel a slight trill of excitement at getting to seeing that exposure be revealed once again. Nagisa seemed to gain more confidence with each successful maneuver, leaning over to stretch out his legs before sliding his hands up their length, ankle to upper thigh. Following the flow, he pulled up into a small head-roll, letting his eyes flutter shut as blue bangs fell in front of his face.

There was no music, yet every action that Nagisa did fell immediately into perfect rhythm. It felt like a song that continuously built up inside Yuuji's head the more he watched. The young man was agile, moving with the confidence of someone who had never quite forgotten special training, despite their body changing throughout their teenage years. Energy rolled through his body in an almost palpable tension, like the coil of a python or boa constrictor. His movements put to shame every dancer that Yuuji had ever seen, times ten. He even found himself watching with half awe, half fascination, unsure if he wanted to be Nagisa, or just be closer to him. Every single bit of Nagisa suddenly seeming alluring, taking on a new figure underneath the overhead lights. Nagisa smiled, making sure to hold eye contact as if every movement told a story, each blink causing time to stand still. It almost appeared that he was savoring the rapt attention, coursing with the power of being "looked at" and "seen".

Without pause, Nagisa grasped the bottom seam of his jacket and lifted it, pulling the garment up over his head. He worked faster this time, struggling free while a few strands of hair pulled loose with its passing. Twirling in bare feet, he played once more with the vest, undoing one button at a time as he spun. Once that had reached its limit too, his discarded it to the floor.

Nagisa's hands made their way down towards the ends of his shirt, fiddling with the edges and lifting them up. Although, never more than enough to show Yuuji anything more than what another young man would be used to seeing. He added in a full body-roll as he sunk down almost to his knees, before rising out of it through a duck-and-twist. Occasionally, he would look over at Yuuji, the bareness of his actions challenging Yuuji to both look and not look.

At last, Nagisa's smile curled at the edges into a kitten-ish smirk. He tipped his head to one side. His hands came snaking down to his hips, crossed over his body in a sultry X. And there they came to rest.

After a few quiet moments passed, it became apparent that the show was over. Nothing progressed much farther past that point this session either.

All the blood came rushing back to Yuuji's head at once. No. No, that couldn't be it. There had to be more on this test sheet that Yuuji could use. Yuuji bent forward over the desk, teeth clenched in frustration. Damn it, there were only so many questions on this list. If he wanted to see any kind of good skin, he would need to answer many more correctly…wait, did he want to see more skin?

Yuuji turned to look up at Nagisa. But before he could ask him if he was really sure, if he was really okay with doing this, especially doing this with a guy, Nagisa spoke. "See? That's not too hard, right?"

Yuuji nodded in agreement. His head whirled. So, these were the strange studying methods that Nagisa had been talking about earlier?

Well, Nagisa had said he wanted to be a teacher, Yuuji thought vaguely to himself. He had to wonder how on earth or what kind of people had taught him to associate perverted acts with academic instruction, though… Who in their right mind would include adult material or suggestive actions like these when being a teacher in a classroom full of students? Although, Yuuji had to admit, the technique did seem to be effective on him.

And maybe that was all Nagisa needed, in the end. Yuuji had noticed that special glint in his eye—the feeling of excitement, of using special skills, and more than that, winning with them. That was probably just part of who the boy was, as one of those ex-assassin trainees.

"You remember what I was saying about using any method?" Nagisa said. "Well, if this one can work, I'm willing to try it. Only if you want to, of course." He shrugged. "It takes all sorts of different strategies to succeed. Like how even flaws can become your weapons when used most effectively, right? "

Yuuji nodded. He mumbled something about making sure do his best.

"Alright then." Nagisa gave a tight smile. "We have a deal. Good luck."


	2. Extra Credit Time

From that week on, their tutoring sessions went like this:

From an outside perspective, perhaps, nothing about their arrangement had changed all that much. For the first half-hour, their session would consist of Nagisa reviewing old concepts with Yuuji, as well as teaching new ones. Often they would base their lesson off of something that Yuuji had already covered in his regular classes, or one he was having extra trouble with now. Throughout this section Yuuji would remain quiet and focused, as if his life depended on it. Or, well, as if something of comparable importance did. Either way, Yuuji was definitely much more inspired than he ordinarily would be, although he sure as hell didn't want to admit it.

The next section of time was based upon drills, Yuuji running through exercises over and over and over again. Honestly, some days he felt like a rat in a circus being forced to perform tricks. Each drill had just enough variety to make sure he was really learning the concepts, and not simply plugging in random things and hoping for an answer. No, guesses wouldn't be enough to earn Yuuji the goal that he sought.

Then, right at the end. Here was where the…ahem, motivation, would occur. For the final part of each session Nagisa would bring along one or two quizzes to check Yuuji's comprehension level, after which Nagisa would dole out the proportional reward. He would perform his dance for him, leaving Yuuji with a good sense for how well he understood the subject, along with a lingering sense of heat and a jumping, crawling restlessness underneath his skin for the rest of the week.

Actually, it sort of reminded Yuuji a little bit of when he still thought Nagisa was a girl- No! Yuuji dragged himself forcibly out of those thoughts. Besides, although he already believed Nagisa on this subject, now Yuuji had absolutely no doubts. Sitting at his desk, Yuuji blushed while remembering what he had seen. Definitely. And somehow, that still wasn't making things any easier.

Subtly, Yuuji touched the front of his chest. Dammit, was his heart just determined to do this, in spite of all common sense? Even despite everything Yuuji told it? He both hated and loved it at the same time.

* * *

Another week, another series of lessons, and few more sessions with Nagisa had flown by. And now here they were again.

Yuuji shifted in his seat. He still felt so conflicted, his mind telling him one thing while all of his instincts screamed at him another. But this time would be different. He had been practicing.

Yes, for the first time in Yuuji's life, out of his own volition, Yuuji had actually been carving out some moments here and there for his own study sessions. And it was paying off. The score on this week's quiz had proved to be much higher than before. Surely that was enough to, Yuuji thought with an edge of desperation, at least see some skin this time-

Meanwhile the world seemed to fade at the edges where Nagisa stood. Nagisa was already in motion, twisting his body in limber patterns, gyrating from his torso all the way down to his hips and thighs. He worked his place on the rug like a cat ready to pounce, a natural fluidity to his movements extending to the very tips of his fingers and keeping a person's eyes locked on him at all times. With a flirty glance away, Nagisa bit his lower lip and reached down toward his belt. He undid the clasp before sliding it out from the loops as slowly as possible, shifting a bit from side to side as he did so.

After the last segment was pulled free gravity took control, dragging Nagisa's pants to hang looser around his hips and sliding down ever-so-slightly, so that a hint of darker fabric was visible beneath. Judging by the fierce blush on his cheeks, Nagisa seemed a little nervous about going this far, but Yuuji could hardly concentrate on that outside of the extra level of heat rising under his own collar. With the tiniest recesses left of Yuuji's brain that he could still use, he kept a silent tally of how many clothing items were left to go. There went Nagisa's vest, his necktie…

When Nagisa's hands at last dipped down to the ends of his shirt, he hesitated. Yuuji's whole world paused, feeling himself staring at that one spot in breathless anticipation. Slowly, Nagisa's fingers ventured even farther below, then slipped underneath the hem and-

Nagisa lifted upwards, a small red object flashing out of his pocket at the same time.

…Huh?

Without a word, Nagisa continued. He moved quickly, hands dipping into pockets and hidden compartments in his pants, taking off hidden pouch after hidden pouch. Multiple objects were drawn into view, from the left, from the right, and from behind, one for each of Yuuji's hard-earned points. Small sachets, devices attached to hidden straps, and even miniature rubber knives. What the heck did he even have those for?

At last Nagisa finished, a small pile of discarded items strewn by his feet. He stood tall, shoulders lifting with pride.

Yuuji's jaw dropped.

"…That's cheating."

"Is not."

"…Are you just going to come wearing more and more of that stuff under your clothes as my scores get better?"

A guilty look from across the room told Yuuji that he was correct.

"That's not fair," Yuuji whined. "You promised!"

"Okay, okay," replied Nagisa, already stooping down to retrieve his clothes. "Well, it was worth a shot."

"Seriously! There's not even any point if I'll I'm gonna get is small fry!"

The quirk of a smile came to Nagisa's lips. "Hmm. I suppose it would be bad to take the fun out of things, wouldn't it? Though I could have sworn you liked being teased."

"Alright. How about this?" Nagisa said, holding up one finger in suggestion. "Let's agree to a certain format, just to make things fair. I'll keep the tests to something achievable. Say, ten questions…" he winked. "And you'll do your best to make it worth my while, in return. Careful, though. Since we're playing for real now, they won't all be easy."

Yuuji gulped, and gave a silent nod. He snuck a look at Nagisa's shoulders, picturing the soft, smooth line of them beneath those clothes. He was pretty sure he had the motivation now.

* * *

Yuuji had it all figured out. The list went like this: house slippers, socks, then jacket, vest, tie, belt, shirt, anything else Nagisa had on him, and the rest. Once, Nagisa had even been forced to use the hair-ties from his wrists as substitutes during a particularly embarrassing session. The gleeful frustration from that day had stung inside Yuuji's heart, although some part of him felt proud that Nagisa had been pushed that far. But Nagisa kept his word, and no more hidden pouches or cheating strategies made any appearance.

As it turned out, Nagisa had been right. With a total of ten questions, the new quizzes might have looked easy. But they were very carefully constructed. The questions ranged in difficulty from simple to mind-numbingly challenging. Though the first few would always be easy, meant more to test Yuuji's familiarity with the topic, the others would be tougher, meant to challenge him and see if he could really comprehend the deeper functions of the material. Thus, every point correct turned into a struggle. Getting even five questions out of ten was only 50 percent, and netted barely any reveal (Although, even the dances that Nagisa could do with just his jacket taken off were glorious). Below 40 percent meant a failing grade, and would get nothing. Nagisa wouldn't even start. Always a very frustrating circumstance. So Yuuji tried his hardest to always earn at least a decent show.

Privately, Yuuji admitted to himself that he probably knew why the last questions in particular were at master-level difficulty. It was most likely because Nagisa didn't really want to go that far. Just imagine, Nagisa losing it all in the middle of Yuuji's room…

Yuuji shook his head to dispel those thoughts.

But also, as annoying as the work was, Yuuji couldn't help being impressed. A soft rustle sounded as he flipped over the sheet in front of him. Nagisa must be putting these test questions together himself, every single week. And although Nagisa had mentioned at some point that a lot of the material was being re-used from his own tests back in middle school, that still sounded like a lot of work. That really must have been an intensive year at Kunugigaoka, Yuuji realized. Studying college-level math before entering high school? Yikes.

Still though. Whatever the circumstances were in which Nagisa was getting these materials, that had to take some resourcefulness and dedication. Yuuji could see why Nagisa wanted to become a teacher. And Yuuji was pretty sure he would make a great one.

…He didn't really want to think about Nagisa stripping for any of his future classes, though.

"See? This is how choosing the right study techniques can be useful," came Nagisa's voice. "Even with only ten questions, we can easily check your level of understanding in a short amount of time. Quality. Not quantity. That was one of the main lessons we learned while back with my old teacher. While everyone else spends hours at cram schools, you can learn almost as much by working smarter, not harder."

Yuuji frowned, looking over an explanation in the textbook for the dozenth time.

"Plus there's a limit to how many clothes I can possibly take off," Nagisa quickly added.

Yuuji huffed out a laugh. Under his breath, he muttered, "Oh, I bet there is…" Privately though, he wondered how far that limit truly lay.

Off to the side, the blue blur of Nagisa lingered on the edge of Yuuji's vision. The boy shivered, clutching his discarded clothes up to his chest.

Yuuji's fingers twitched. He wanted to put his arms around him.

But instead, he forced himself to remain seated in the chair. And watched from the corner of his eye as Nagisa smoothly gathered the rest of his clothes, then slipped back into the sleeves and socks, putting them on again.

* * *

The girls sitting two rows behind Yuuji were really starting to get on his nerves.

He grit his teeth, struggling to concentrate on the droning voice of the teacher above everything else. C'mon. Couldn't these people manage to stop gossiping for at least fifteen minutes? Hadn't they ever learned to show some respect for those in the class who actually _wanted_ to learn? Honestly, Yuuji swore that rich kids were the absolute worst.

Yuuji tapped his pencil against his notebook in an impatient rhythm. Those private lessons had even started to affect how he was in school. Whereas before Yuuji would often drift in and out of lectures, distracted by trying to make after-school plans with people, or by whatever awful drama was going on, now he almost always paid attention in class. His gaze was focused straight ahead.

"Hey!" He finally snapped at the chicks behind him. "Mind shutting up, for god's sake?"

Yuuji turned back around, ignoring the icy glares from the two girls. Yuuji couldn't blame them. They would never understand.

It was getting harder and harder to explain to his friends why he had started blushing so often in math class.

Hm? Wait. The teacher had just gone over something that Yuuji still had questions about. Maybe he should ask…

He raised his hand.

* * *

 _Knock-knock-knock_ , went the rapping of knuckles against wood.

"Hellooo? Earth to Shiota-sensei?"

"Huh?" Nagisa jolted to attention from where he was sitting in the neighboring chair. "Uh, yes?"

"You doin' okay?" asked Yuuji. "You seem kinda distracted today."

"Oh. It's nothing," said Nagisa, staring down at the textbook in his lap. "I was just thinking about how I should try to get some studying in too."

"Studying?" Yuuji scoffed. "Whatever for? I'm the one who's being tutored here, right?"

"True," replied Nagisa. "It's just… Doing this has got me thinking about my own situation. I need to work on my grades also."

"Pfft, you'll be fine," Yuuji said, scrawling his way through the day's warm-up worksheet. "You're already in the Keisetsu elevator system, right? So you're golden."

Nagisa frowned, a small hint of darkness seeming to flicker at the mention of his school name. "Yeah, but at my school we still have to pass our final exams before our spot is secured." He chewed his bottom lip nervously. "I barely got into this school to start with, so I don't want to take any chances."

Yuuji's eyebrows rose past the brim of his hat. "Dang, you mean you almost failed?"

Nagisa winced. "Don't put it like that. I mean, I got in, just on the waiting list… So I'm really lucky that someone bowed out to give me my spot."

"Oh my god." Yuuji grinned, scooting back his chair and leaning on the rear legs to smirk over at Nagisa. "Even the great Nagisa Shiota, tutor extraordinaire, champion of Class E, isn't invincible, it seems."

Nagisa's face flushed, the boy sputtering out excuses and protests while Yuuji laughed through them all. Okay, okay, he shouldn't tease him like that. But Yuuji couldn't help it. It was just so fun to get Nagisa flustered, to see any kind of expression on his face and know that Yuuji was the one who put it there.

Plus hey, in a weird way that actually gave Yuuji hope. If even someone like Nagisa had failed, had had to struggle for success, then it meant he wasn't perfect. No one was. And if hard work really could get you places, then maybe it was worth it for Yuuji to try, too.

* * *

While Nagisa's dances might have been unpolished and simple at first, they soon gained variety, becoming more and more captivating as they progressed through their meetings.

Watching Nagisa was the equivalent of having a front-row seat to an entire performance. He stretched. He leaned. He moved the upper part of his body even when it wasn't in use, granting quick glances at his pale neck and defined collarbones that never failed to make a swoop go through Yuuji's stomach. Sometimes the clothes would be taken off gradually, their owner lifting up and then pulling back down on their flimsy edges again before finally shrugging them away, or sometimes discarded so swiftly that Yuuji hardly had time to register and savor the change. On other occasions Nagisa would do it all at once in one long, slow progression. Always taking his time. Always rewarding Yuuji for his hard efforts.

It was the little things that Yuuji found himself looking forward to the most. Why, even just the removal of Nagisa's tie made a big difference. Like now, with how Nagisa undid his school tie at the knot, pulling with one hand until one section of fabric came loose, then another, threading the black line through his fingers and allowing his collar to relax open just slightly. He draped the fabric around his neck, the dark color accentuating with white fabric to lead to a certain va-va-voom effect. After that Nagisa sunk down to his knees on the carpet, bracing himself on his knees to support a low, sensuous rocking motion. While there he reached up to undo the top button of his shirt, widening the gap and revealing a patch of skin that wasn't quite cleavage but still enticing. In one fluid motion he stood, turning as he did so and letting the tie trail down behind him, reaching the slight curve of his rear, where Yuuji was most definitely already looking.

Facing Yuuji again, Nagisa swayed in place as he returned his attention to his shirtfront. He spent a small eternity undoing the buttons, often unfastening just two or three at a time and leaning forward with each new reveal, exposing his throat and drawing out the tension to its maximum level until Yuuji almost couldn't stand it anymore. God, this never got old. There were so many different ways to view a person depending on how straitlaced or undone their fashion looked.

Suddenly a mischievous expression came to Nagisa's face. In a flash of motion, he reached out and took Yuuji's hat right off of his head. Yuuji protested and sputtered, hands coming up to his exposed hair. But Nagisa just winked at him, smirking for a moment. Then Nagisa continued his routine, transferring Yuuji's hat between his hands and incorporating it into part of his dance. Nagisa held the cap in front of his face, glancing out from behind it shyly. He traced the brim softly around the line of his chin. He flicked his hips out, tracing a perfect curve as his butt swiveled around, Yuuji's eyes catching on the slight curve of Nagisa's waist. Nagisa used the cap to shield little bits of himself as he twisted and turned, blocking all of the precious areas where he must have known Yuuji most wanted to look.

All words and thought fled from Yuuji's head. Nagisa had never gotten that close to him during one of his dances before. And seeing Nagisa standing there, clothes either half-off or loosened, with Yuuji's hat set at a jaunty angle on his own head… It was a wonder Yuuji's soul didn't fly out towards heaven that very minute.

As with the ending of each performance, once Nagisa was finished, he paused and held his pose. He let Yuuji stare at him for a few brief moments before sighing and then commanding him to start again, on a different worksheet this time.

Yuuji clenched one hand into a fist beneath the desk. Did Nagisa know what kind of an effect he was having on him? How much this was like torture to Yuuji? It was like sitting in front of a window to a five-star restaurant yet never being allowed to taste the merchandise. A sumptuous torment. One as visually arresting as any luxury dessert Yuuji had sat in front of.

And when Yuuji next accompanied Nagisa to the door, pressing the usual stack of bills into Nagisa's open palm, he couldn't shake the nagging feeling that it was kind of like paying off a stripper.

* * *

The skin became his goal. The bareness, the vulnerability, the mere chance to see Nagisa in such an enchanting light again. Every moment Yuuji would wait for, every time he craved, each knot in the pit of his stomach when held captive in a stare. That exposure would be the fulfillment of everything. The smooth surface, the soft appearance combined with traces of tense muscles beneath, the curve and sway from Nagisa's shoulders down to his hips, the modest grace in his legs that always drew Yuuji's gaze. Every time finding more to discover, more to look at. Each reveal more alluring than the last. The amount of clothing always tied to Yuuji's breathing, his own breath growing shorter whenever there was less. He wanted it. He craved it.

Soon, it was all he could think about.

"Wh- Yuuji! That's cheating!" Nagisa exclaimed, brandishing the latest worksheet. There in the space below the final questions, added in hand-drawn scrawl, were a few extra-credit questions written and filled out in Yuuji's own handwriting.

Yuuji grinned.

Nagisa pouted, but not without a note of amusement. "Clever. But still against the rules. I'm afraid I'll have to subtract those points from your total score", he said, before getting up to start his dance again.

* * *

Time passed.

Days went by and turned into weeks, weeks lingered on until they turned into months. With each change on the calendar, Yuuji's marks also improved. Soon, Nagisa even stopped putting on his socks and jacket after each test, confident that Yuuji would be able to score high enough to just get him to remove them once more. Apparently to him it wasn't even worth the bother of putting the first layer of clothes back on. Which left him in an almost permanent state of minor reward. The sight made a thrum of satisfaction well up within Yuuji.

"Look at that!" Nagisa said after their session of the day, clothes strewn in crumpled heaps over the floor. His face shone with pride as he looked at Yuuji's worksheet. In one quick motion, Nagisa leaned in to get a closer look, placing one hand on Yuuji's shoulder to steady himself. "You've improved so much. Good job, Yuuji!"

His touch sent a jolt of electricity straight through Yuuji's core. In a flash, Yuuji scooted himself fully up against the desk.

"Yuuji? Is something wrong?" Nagisa's voice rang with concern.

"Nope."

"You look all red."

"m' fine."

"You sure?"

"Mhmm," Yuuji said, his voice feeling tighter than usual. Much like the front of his pants.

Nagisa looked at Yuuji with one more concerned glance, before wandering off to retrieve his garments. Yuuji forced himself to keep his eyes riveted on his paper, letting out a sigh of relief. In the background, the sound of Nagisa making his way back into his clothes filled Yuuji's ears. Really, over the past few weeks, Yuuji had become very thankful for the existence of this hardwood desk in order to preserve his dignity.

* * *

As it turned out, the depth of darkness was the best time to study.

 _Scritch. Scratch. Tap-tap-tap-tap. Schf._ The room echoed softly with noises of Yuuji's pencil moving over paper. Every once in a while would come the whispered interruption of a turning page. A muted thump echoed from a water bottle being lifted and then set down. It was dark, the familiar sights of Yuuji's room lurking in a blur of black and indigo shapes. There Yuuji sat, at the same desk as always, lit by the light of a desk lamp. One notebook lay open in front of him, with two textbooks opened at different sections propped up against the back shelves. The headphones over his ears provided a calming weight as Yuuji nodded along to the beat. Music always seemed to help him concentrate the most.

At the end of one more paragraph, Yuuji looked up and checked the time. The red symbols of his alarm clock glowed through the darkness. It was late at night, but not too late. After all, Nagisa had warned him about that. Something about the dangers of cramming leading to ineffective memory retention.

Yuuji rubbed his eyes and sighed. Behind the closed lids, his mind was starting to swim with jumbled fragments of calculations and the English alphabet. Here he went again.

Yuuji leaned back in his chair, balancing on the rear legs as he gazed aimlessly up toward the ceiling. He placed a pencil between his nose and upper lip, making a pouty face. If Yuuji had to guess, he had the vague sense that his empty gaze probably looked like that of a dead fish. It was so quiet. So still. And yet, the hushed calmness and concentrated night air somehow gave Yuuji a feeling of something like peace.

God, this was tiring. Just look at him, being all responsible and stuff. All he wanted to do was goof off. Maybe just one smoke to get him through...

But nah. He had a goal in mind. And there was still a bit more to go according to his planned schedule for tonight. Yuuji shook himself and leaned back over the desk, trying to bring himself back to task.

 _…But in his mind, Nagisa was there, ready and waiting to welcome him. Nagisa was leaning back against the desk, blue hair rumpled and standing out like a fluffy cloud from where it cut in around his ears. He reclined against the furniture, stretching out his lithe body in full view and allowing long, lingering glances at the sight that had been so long denied. His gaze was warm with approval. A piece of paper lay on the desk marked in red pen, but Yuuji didn't need to see the grade. He already knew what the score must have been, to have Nagisa looking at him like this._

 _Nagisa's head cocked slightly to one side, eyes deep and sparkling like a freshwater stream, the low lamp light illuminating his smooth skin, the soft curve of his cheeks, the lines of his lips as they parted. 'You've done so well, Yuuji…' Nagisa breathed. His shirt was loose and rumpled, untucked at the ends, so Yuuji must have gotten at least this far on his marks from a previous test, Nagisa's necktie had been undone too, draping around the boy's neck and dangling down on both sides like a limp ribbon. His buttons were open down the front, exposing just a few centimeters of smooth, bare chest, the kind that Yuuji just a few months ago would have never thought he would stare at, but he sure as hell was staring now. And what did Yuuji care if there was nothing there, no bumps or curves for the material to bunch over, only flat expanse and shadow when Nagisa moved enough to displace the material, because that was okay, because that didn't matter much in the end, because suddenly every move Nagisa made was enough to fill the corners of Yuuji's entire universe._

 _'Here. It's time for your reward…' Nagisa moved with as much grace as he did during the dances, reaching forward. And he was already so close to Yuuji, standing right in front, that maybe this time he would move even closer, would saunter over with the same smirk he always had, and then just not stop. There would no need to hold anything back. Yuuji would come to him. He would press Nagisa up against the desk, or, or maybe it would actually be the reverse, and Nagisa could take him and-_

 **BWWOOMMM!**

Suddenly the song changed within Yuuji's headphones, zipping into a booming number and shaking Yuuji out of whatever space he had been in. His chair dropped back to all fours with a clack. Yuuji shook his head for a moment to interrupt the rest of those thoughts. There he was—back in his room, the night air as chill and empty around him as ever, no trace of Nagisa anywhere, and his heart pounding like a drum inside his chest.

Yuuji blinked in the direction of the bookshelves. Ah. It had been only a fantasy. He sat there for a few moments, not daring to move. His head felt fuzzy, his cheeks on fire with how hard they were blushing, and there was a tingling underneath his skin that just wouldn't go away. He swallowed despite a throat that had suddenly gone dry.

Well, that settled it. He was screwed. And not in the way that he really wanted to be.

* * *

Today was something different.

"…"

Most of the time, there would be talking at this point. The room would have been filled with the sounds of pens scribbling and instruction echoing off the walls, interrupted by laughter over some of Yuuji's awful jokes. Yuuji felt silly now thinking of how often he had wished that Nagisa would just cease his endless lectures for once. Because this silence was something worse.

The two of them sat together around a low table, in the personal-space section of Yuuji's room behind the walled partition. Nagisa had been given the honored seat of the massage chair, although all of its functions were off at the moment.

Lying on the table in front of them was a single piece of white paper. Both were silent as they kept reading the contents over and over. At the top of the flyer was a statement in bold type, announcing the annual hosting of the Mock Exam session at Yuuji's high school, along with the planned date and time.

"So, we've finally come to this," Nagisa said. His expression looked about as grim as Yuuji's own.

Yuuji nodded, his fingers digging nervously into his knees.

"It's only a little more than a month away," Nagisa mused, scanning the mass of text thoughtfully. "That's a bit sooner than my own exam, so good. That means we can feel free to shift our concentration onto you even more."

The very sound of that made Yuuji's stomach clench around what felt like something hollow. So much had happened, and yet once Yuuji really stopped to think about it, suddenly everything seemed like it was coming on way too fast. It felt strange to realize how little time remained, as if part of the floor was about to fall away from underneath him.

"Still though, this is good!" said Nagisa, clapping his hands together in front of him. "Finally we can put everything to the real test."

Yuuji nodded. "Yeah."

"Whatever your results on the mock exam are, they'll be a great indicator of your success for the real thing. And given how much we've practiced, I'm certain that your skills are much improved compared to where you were a few months ago. I'm so happy for you, Yuuji." Nagisa beamed. "Finally, all your hard work will have paid off."

Despite the nerves, a smile twitched on Yuuji's face. Nagisa sounded so upbeat. He seemed completely content to cheer on Yuuji alone, not even giving a thought to his own upcoming exams. Any success was great, it seemed, as long as it represented a victory for education. Well, that was just Nagisa's way, but still.

"We still need some way to keep you motivated though." Nagisa said, forging on ahead.

"Oh?" Yuuji raised an eyebrow. That sounded nice. Maybe he could request a specific outfit for the last pre-mock quiz, or something?

"Hmm…" Nagisa thought for a minute. "How about this?"

He held up one finger in an a-ha gesture. "If you manage to pass the mock exam, you get a kiss."

Yuuji blinked.

"Wh…" For a moment the world seemed to slow on its axis. Yuuji stuttered, trying once again to figure out if the other boy was serious. "A kiss? From you?"

Nagisa nodded. "Don't worry, I've been told I'm pretty good at them. So I'll do my best."

A whirlwind of thoughts and questions filled Yuuji's head. His mouth opened as if to say something, then closed. Yuuji's blinking continued as he tried to keep up with the shock of the offer, flashes of emotions and thoughts spinning through him like a kaleidoscope. A kiss? He had endured all that, every torturous moment of watching and wanting, of teasing and taunting, and now Nagisa was offering him a mere kiss-

Yuuji accepted the offer immediately.

"Then, it's settled." Nagisa beamed back. "For a passing grade on the mock exam, plus every hundred points above the cutoff, that equals one kiss per." Nagisa shrugged. "And if you manage to rack up enough points to qualify for your top choice college, I'll even slip you some tongue."

Ba-dum. Yuuji swallowed down a yelp over the sound of his heart skipping a beat.

"If by some miracle you manage to score within the top level of your entire class…" Nagisa trailed off, giving a sultry wink. "You get to decide."

Yuuji felt his limbs grow weak. Well, if he hadn't felt motivated before, he did now. So damn motivated.

* * *

Today was the day. The day when everything would finally be revealed.

Yuuji tapped his foot, trying not to look uneasy as he waited by the entrance to his room. He knew what was coming. They both did. After all these months, Yuuji's skills had progressed even quicker than they thought.

As discussed a few sessions ago, the real mock-exam was still a few weeks away. Yet it was obvious to them both that Yuuji's improvement wouldn't wait that long. A recent slew of sevens, eights, eights, even some nines… This personal arrangement between them appeared to be reaching its protracted, inevitable peak. It was no longer unreasonable to assume that a full-points score would be happening soon. The two of them had put it off as long as possible, the test questions becoming even more challenging while Nagisa's dancing twisted and turned, doing his best to delay the final grand embarrassment, but still. Judging by timing and Yuuji's particular mastery over this week's subject, Yuuji would be able to get a full-marks score around today.

With a clack, the door opened.

Nagisa rushed inside, hair tussled and schoolbag held close to his side. But each step he took struck the ground with purpose, holding himself like a soldier marching towards battle. As soon as his gaze found Yuuji, a determined, resolute expression crossed his face.

"Hey there," Nagisa said, his casual tone offset by the stiffness in his limbs. He dropped his bag off of his shoulder and into the nearest chair. "So how did it go? That big science test you were worried about, I mean."

"Hm? Ah, it went well actually." Yuuji shuffled on his feet as if wishing his slippers could sink even deeper into the plush carpet. "Felt like I had a handle on things."

"That's good. Well then...what about, uh, those extra-credit lessons I assigned you?"

"Yeah, I've been working on them. Got it covered."

"Good." Nagisa wouldn't look at Yuuji, biting his bottom lip and gaze flicking around the room. However he tried to hide it, a certain embarrassed, tense energy seemed to radiate from Nagisa, playing with the ends of his sleeves as if he were already thinking about the likely end to their session this time around. "We've don't have much time left until the big day, so from here on it's more important than ever to make each moment count. Um… So for today's session too, I'll be counting on you to do your best-"

Yuuji cleared his throat. "About that…"

He extended one hand toward Nagisa, a soft rustle emanating with the lift of his arm. From where he was standing, Nagisa blinked and peered closer to get a better look.

In Yuuji's hand was a thick, brown booklet. It had been folded at the spine, held open so that its inner pages were visible. The contents showed a display of sections filled with the curves and graphs of math problems, along with thick paragraphs of English. The pages were filled to the brim with the marks of Yuuji's scribbled handwriting, doled out in analysis and also frustration. A few miniature black-line tornadoes showed where wrong answers had been crossed out. At the top of the header on the catalogue was a label, clear and recognizable to all who saw it. It was an official practice booklet, the exact same format as the real test. And this one had been already pre-filled out, the attached grading sheet proclaiming a stunningly high score, all work shown and calculations diligently written out and double-checked.

Nagisa's eyes went wide. He slowly reached out and took the papers as if they were made of the most precious gold. His gaze flicked across the pages, an expression of awe dawning further across his face with each new line. "Yuuji…" he breathed. "This is incredible. You actually gave yourself a full practice exam? Timed and everything?"

Yuuji nodded.

Nagisa gave an excited smile. "I can't believe it. Talk about going the extra mile. And to get almost full-marks? Amazing! That mock exam stands no chance against you now!"

Then a realization seemed to occur to him. Nagisa went bright red. He brought up one hand and picked at the neck of his sweater. "Uhh… Does this mean you want me to get started right now?"

Yuuji scoffed. He kept his arms crossed and stood tall, looking off to the side and hoping that the beat of his heart couldn't be heard through the surrounding air. "Nah, it's cool. Don't worry about it."

"It's all thanks to you that I've been able to get to this point," said Yuuji. "So I figured I should do the responsible thing and make sure you have enough time and space to focus on yourself from now on. Starting from today, I'm going to strike out and do my own thing. In other words," he cleared his throat, "you are released from service. I can handle stuff on my own."

Nagisa blinked in disbelief. "I… What? Really?"

Yuuji nodded. "Yeah. Thanks for all the hard work 'n stuff. But I thought a lot about it, and well, it wouldn't be fair to you. I figured that if I could at least do this much myself, then that would mean that I wouldn't need to ask for your help anymore. Like, a graduation of sorts."

"So I won't be needing anymore of your, uh, extra lessons." Yuuji scratched the back of his head in embarrassment, the brim of his cap shifting slightly with the movement. "Of course, I'll still pay in full. Just watch me shine, from where you are on the sidelines."

Quiet fell for a few moments as Nagisa seemed to take in his words. Then Nagisa smiled. The certain tension in the room seemed to dissipate, as if a long-held breath was being slowly released. "Well. I must admit, I'm really surprised. To think that you would take things this far."

"Alright," conceded Nagisa. "If that's what you've decided, then it's my job as your tutor to support you. And if you feel capable of standing on your own now, then I guess that's the best kind of results anyone could ask for." He looked up at Yuuji. "Although, if you'd be alright with it, I think I'll still stay for a little while," he confessed. "Just enough to at least see you through."

Yuuji didn't have the words to reject him. Instead he nodded, taking the warm glow of those words from Nagisa and stowing them deep inside his heart. He bowed from the waist. "Hope to have your support in the future too, then."

Nagisa returned the bow. "Of course. I look forward to it."

"Besides…" Nagisa said after he straightened up. A certain glint lurked in his eye. In one smooth motion, he placed Yuuji's practice materials back on the desk. "You still haven't claimed your reward for this, yet."

* * *

A fresh breeze danced through the air, bringing with it the feeling of freedom and new beginnings to the grounds of Kunugigaoka park.

Yuuji made his way down the dirt path, a blur of greenery passing by on either side. Grassy knolls and bushes rested easy in the sunlight. Trees lined the walkways, spreading their branches above all visitors and reaching up to the sky as if preparing to shake themselves into bloom. Quite a few people had come to enjoy the sights and atmosphere today, and Yuuji was hardly alone. He dodged and wove past fellow students and a young couple with a stroller, muttering a short "'Scuse me" before walking off at a pace so quick that it could almost be called a run.

Then finally, over there. A familiar dash of blue.

"Hey!" Yuuji called out, holding up one hand long before the other person had noticed him. "Nagisa, over here!"

The boy turned at the sound of Yuuji's voice. He had been waiting right by the pond, as they had discussed. As usual his outfit for today was oversized, wearing khaki trousers and an bulky gray coat. When their eyes met, Nagisa smiled.

"Hey there," he greeted as Yuuji approached. "I'd know that hat anywhere."

"Heh. I guess it does kinda help me stand out in a crowd," Yuuji admitted.

Nagisa gave an non-commital noise. "So, how have you been doing?"

"Good. You?"

"Good."

And he did. Yuuji couldn't help but notice the energy in Nagisa's eyes, the sun striking them alert and clear. And his hair, light enough to blend in with the sky, newly cut into an even shorter style. The length was now officially up past Nagisa's ears. He did look good.

"So," asked Nagisa, "you brought something?"

"Yeah!" Yuuji said, immediately starting to dig around in his schoolbag. "I wanted to show you that I made it. Recently I've been talking things over with my folks, even got myself a whole college counselor and everything. But before that-"

Yuuji revealed a paper-clipped set of papers with a florish. "Ta-da! Check it out: We got our final grades for the term!"

Nagisa reached out and took the bundle. "Wow, that's amazing!" he exclaimed, after looking over the contents. "Look at all those A's. What a great thing to go into our final year with."

Yuuji grinned with pride. It was all worth it to show Nagisa how well he had been able to keep his promise. Quietly, some part of him hoped it was enough to hide the slight bittersweet pang that crossed his mind at the mention of their senior year. He wondered how many more times they would really be able to bond over stuff like this. Dang.

"I'm sure you can keep this up next year, too," Nagisa said. His gaze remained on the transcript. He seemed to be picking up on every little detail, scanning over the final grades declaration as well as teachers' remarks, absorbing all the information like a vaccuum. Nagisa continued to fawn over Yuuji's transcript, looking over each page like a proud sponsor before folding them up neatly and returning them back to Yuuji. He smiled. "Congratulations. I'm so happy for you, Yuuji. This is great improvement, but more importantly, you managed to achieve this all on your own. I gotta say, I'm impressed."

All at once, a balloon of emotion seemed to expand inside of Yuuji's chest. Happiness and pride filtered through him like the glow of sunlight filtering through the trees surrounding them. He wanted so badly to dignify Nagisa's remarks with a response, some kind of clever speech. But all of the thoughts and wishes choked his tongue, and Yuuji found that he couldn't speak. Those last two words from Nagisa just seemed to wash away all the snapped pencils and slog from those occasional late nights in one fell swoop. "Heh. What can I say?" Yuuji shrugged. "I've been feeling inspired lately."

Privately, shame colored the front of Yuuji's chest. Of course, he couldn't tell Nagisa that whenever he needed a studying boost he could just think of Nagisa's, uh, little tricks.

Yuuji shook off those thoughts. No, it wouldn't make any sense to bring that up now. The two of them had stopped that agreement a while ago and slowly turned back to their own lives, concentrating on their own respective challenges and academic battlefields. And judging how things were going, Yuuji didn't think it was likely they'd ever return to that. But still, it had given him some valuable lessons. Along with precious memories he would never forget.

"Hey, y'know," Nagisa spoke, his voice teasing. He nodded toward the transcript tucked safely in Yuuji's schoolbag. "If you keep your grades up enough, maybe we could even go to the same college."

Yuuji jolted in place. "R-really? You mean it?"

Nagisa shrugged. "Sure. I mean, our goals are still pretty different." He laughed. "But who knows! There are a lot of options in Tokyo, and with grades like that, I'm sure you'll be able to give yourself a lot of choices. Maybe we'll both end up looking at the same places."

"So yeah," Nagisa said. He blinked, his eyes the same color as the pond beside them, calm yet rollicking under the surface with mischief. "Best of luck, Yuuji. I hope to see you next year."

"You too."

Yuuji gave a nod in place of a half-bow for a moment. And as a small breeze blew through the space between them, he couldn't help but let his thoughts wander. What would things be like even farther in the future? Could they still manage to keep up their bond? Would Yuuji still be able to keep this person, and the way Nagisa made him feel, in his life? Somehow, Yuuji felt a sensation like a deep promise sinking into his bones. If it were at all possible, he wished that they could have moments like this just a little bit more. That some part of their souls would always remain bared.

They said their goodbyes, one to another. Then, Nagisa slowly wandered off, heading away down the curved path.

Yuuji stood by the pond, enthusiastically waving and watching as Nagisa walked farther into the distance. Occasionally, Nagisa would stop and turn, taking a moment to wave back. Yuuji smiled until the last trace of Nagisa's gray coat faded from sight.

And that was that.

Yuuji lingered for another moment longer. He sighed, the soft sounds of water rippling past in the background. All around him were the bright green leaves and lush sunlight dappling through the trees, the tan gravel path, people passing by on each side, and the growing sounds of birdsong, all in the middle of this incredible, impossible city.

He knew what he had to do now. Just as Yuuji had once learned that all flaws could be repurposed into a person's weapons, now Yuuji finally felt like he knew how to put those weapons to good use.

He couldn't rely on anyone else to give him things. Not his wealth, not privilege, though he was certainly lucky beyond belief to have those. And not on money. Not on drugs, either. He had to change from the inside. If Yuuji wanted to make his life into one that he enjoyed living, he would have to do some things himself.

And one day, maybe he would shine bright enough to get Nagisa to look back at him.


End file.
